1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a station for storing full weft packages to be supplied to a weaving machine and a carrier for transferring the full weft packages stored in the station to a weft package stand of the weaving machine and for arranging the full weft packages to the weft package stand.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A majority of weaving machines in a weaving factory are arranged, in consideration of their operating efficiencies, in a plurality of rows so that the neighboring weaving machines in two rows may face each other in their opposite directions, that is, so that the delivery sides or the take-up sides of such neighboring weaving machines may face each other. In the weft package stand of each weaving machine, a direction thereof is also determined in accordance with the direction of each weaving machine, that is, the rows of the weaving machines.
Accordingly, in case of moving a carrier which transfers the full packages from the storage station of these full packages to the weft package stand and supplies these full packages to these weaving machines along the row of the weaving machines in the same direction, the relative relation between the direction of the weft package stand to the moving direction of the carrier is different accordingly as the rows of the weaving machines. With reference to the weaving machines arranged in the same row, the relative relation is sometimes different depending on how a carrier advances into the rows of the weaving machines.
Thus, when the carrier arrives at the weft package stand where requires a full package, the full package direction held by handle means attached to the carrier must be set in consideration of the above-mentioned relative relation, for example, so as to coincide with the direction for accepting the full package of the weft package stand.
Conventionally, the full packages are preliminarily disposed within the storage station along the travel path of the carrier under the condition that the full packages are directed to a particular direction every the above-mentioned relative relation, that is, under the condition that the axial direction of the full packages is directed in the coinciding direction with the accepting direction for the full packages of the weft package stand, when the full packages are transferred to the weft package stand. The carriers are selectively stopped in the neighborhood of the full packages directed to a particular direction within the storage station, accept the full packages, transfer the full packages to the weft package stand and place the full packages at the weft package stand.
However, in the case of preparing a plurality of full packages every particular directions along the travel path of the carrier in the storage station, this becomes a hinderance to the effective utilization of the space in the storage station.